Mainland sets its sights on 'Little Taiwan'

Pingtan Island used to be where Beijing would stage massive military manoeuvres for the forcible 'liberation' of Taiwan, but that was before 1996. Now mainland officials want to transform it into a 'Little Taiwan'.

The island county closest to Taiwan - only 126 kilometres away - has now been included in Beijing's blueprint to attract Taiwanese and their investments. Plans may even include joint government by mainland and Taiwanese authorities, as well as allowing Taiwanese to travel with only their identity cards rather than passports and Taiwanese currency to circulate.

Hopes are high. If Beijing gives the idea full support, as top leaders have promised, 'It's hard to image that Pingtan will fail in economic growth when the country spares no effort to exploit' it, said Hsieh Ming-hwei, vice-secretary of the Taipei-based Taiwan Competitiveness Forum.

Pingtan is one of the 'island projects' being launched as offshoots of the mainland's original special economic zones - Shenzhen, Shantou and Zhuhai in Guangdong ; Xiamen in Fujian ; and all of Hainan province - which were established in 1980 by leader Deng Xiaoping for capitalist reforms.

Although President Hu Jintao hailed those original SEZs as 'a miracle of industrialisation in the history of the world' at their 30th anniversary celebration this month in Shenzhen, criticisms have arisen that they are losing their lustre. Provincial governors attending the annual Pan-Pearl River Delta Forum in Fuzhou, Fujian, at the end of last month - many at their wits' end over new economic development models - expressed hope that these projects could become test tubes for economic growth.

Among the other projects, Hengqin Island in Zhuhai will focus on co-operation with Macau; Qianhai in Shenzhen will co-operate with Hong Kong; and Yangpu Island in Hainan will work with Southeast Asian countries.

The Pingtan project is probably the most ambitious. Drive southeast for two hours from Fuzhou and ferry across interior waters, and you'll reach the 371 square kilometre island, the fifth-largest in China. It takes only three hours by boat across the Taiwan Strait to Hsinchu.